BRITISH NATIONAL THEATRE

Radio Record, Volume VIII, Issue 44, 10 May 1935, Page 5

BRITISH NATIONAL THEATRE

(\NE of. the schemes put forward to permanently mark the Silver Jubilee of his Majesty is the establishment. of the long-discussed British National Theatre. As far back as 1908 interest in a National Theatre was aroused and the sum of £150,000 was raised toward an endowment fund. For the past 27 years the scheme has been allowed to lapse, but it has now been revived and opinions are being freely expressed ‘by English dramatists, actors and critics. Writing in "The Observer" (London) Mr. John Gielgud, the eminent Shakespearean actor and producer, says: We know that £150,000 is already in hand, and another £350,000 is being asked for. But it should be very seriously debated whether that is not an enormous sum to spend on the building of a new theatre in central London-where . there are too many big theatres already. One or two of the newest and biggest, like the Prince Edward, are very often empty. There is, of course, the contention that as the first sum of money was subscribed expressly for "building a theatre," it cannpt possibly be allocated to any other purpose. But an Act of Parliament should be able to arrange this. . Now we come to the consideration of what plays a single National ‘Theatre is going to do. It’s not so easy. to find them! Shakespeare, of course (we'll come to him in a minute)-but then what else? You say at once, Shaw, Galsworthy, Ibsen, Chekhov. and so forth. . But there is not the slightest danger of any of these being neglected in present conditions. ‘hese are continually being revived in central London theatres, and they are, and have been for years, the staple diet of the suburban and repertory theatres. Good new plays of the classic order are very hard to come byand the producer at the National Theatre may find himself torn between tripe and Shakespeare! Now we come to Shakespeare. But there are already two institutions given over to him, the Old Vie and the Stratford-on-Avon theatre, or even three, counting Sadler’s Wells. All these three have excellent records in the past. but they are all hampered by two things-time and lack of money. . _ Supposing the three institutions-Stratford, the Old and Sadler’s Wells-were in a sense amalgamated, and endowed on a large scale as the genuine foundation of a National Theatre. In the first place, the companies would be interchangeable, and infinitely more care could be given to production. A play could run a month at the Old Vic, then go to Stratford, then to Sadler’s Wells, and then perhaps tour for a month. Having only to produce a play every three or four months, would give a producer much more time to put his best work into each. Actors could ‘be given engagements of a year-or of much more than a year. Tt could be made worth their. while to stay permanently with the company. And with.more money to work with, the scenery could be better.